За даними Bloomberg, станом на 15:25 торги відбувалися приблизно на рівні офіційного курсу – 40 гривень 15 копійок за долар
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Brussels — McDonald’s MCD.N does not have the right to use the term “Big Mac” for poultry products in Europe after not using it for them for five consecutive years, the region’s second top court said on Wednesday, a partial win for Irish rival Supermac’s in a long-running trademark dispute.

The Luxembourg-based General Court’s ruling centered on Supermac’s attempt in 2017 to revoke McDonald’s use of the name Big Mac, which the U.S. company had registered in 1996 for meat and poultry products and services rendered at restaurants.

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) dismissed Supermac’s application for revocation and confirmed McDonald’s use of the term for meat and chicken sandwiches, prompting the Irish company to challenge the decision.

Supermac’s, which opened its first restaurants in Galway in 1978 and had sought to expand in the United Kingdom and Europe, sells beef and chicken burgers as well as fried chicken nuggets and sandwiches.

The General Court rejected McDonald’s arguments and partially annulled and altered EUIPO’s decision.

“McDonald’s loses the EU trade mark Big Mac in respect of poultry products,” judges ruled.

“McDonald’s has not proved genuine use within a continuous period of five years in the European Union in connection with certain goods and services.”

The U.S. fast-food chain said in an email it can still continue to use the Big Mac trademark, which it uses chiefly for a beef sandwich.

Supermac’s founder Pat McDonagh told Ireland’s Newstalk Radio that the decision was “a big win for anyone with the surname Mac.”

“It does mean we can expand elsewhere with Supermac’s across the EU, so that is a big win for us today,” he told the radio station.

Trademark owners should pay attention to the ruling, said Pinsent Masons IP lawyer Matthew Harris.

“This is a huge wakeup call and owners of well-known trademarks cannot simply rest on the premise ‘it is obvious the public know the brand and we have been using it’,” he said.

“The case highlights that even global renowned brands are held to the same scrutiny when having to evidence genuine use of a trademark in a given territory.”

The ruling can be appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union, Europe’s highest.

The case is T-58/23 Supermac’s v EUIPO – McDonald’s International Property (BIG MAC). 
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Згідно з розрахунками агентства, податки, пов’язані з нафтою, зросли до 632,5 мільярда рублів минулого місяця, а загальні надходження зросли до 793,7 мільярда
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Упродовж попередніх двох тижнів НБУ практично щодня послаблював гривню проти долара, оновивши кілька історичних мінімумів національної валюти
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За підсумками 2023 року компанія «Газпром» показала свій перший збиток майже за 25 років
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Chicago — Mark Tuttle planted more soy and less corn on his northern Illinois farm this spring as prices for both crops hover near three-year lows and soybeans’ lower production costs offered him the best chance of turning a profit in the country’s top soy producing state.

He even planted soybeans in one of his fields for a second straight year, breaking the traditional soy-corn-soy rotation for field management. He and many other farmers are hoping to just minimize losses.

Planting more soy at a time of sputtering demand from importers and domestic processors will only serve to drive prices lower, further swell historically large global supplies and erode U.S. farm incomes already poised for the steepest annual drop ever in dollar terms.

But Midwest farmers’ other main options — seeding more corn or leaving fields fallow — could have resulted in even wider losses.

“There’s a better chance of making money with soybeans than there is for corn right now,” Tuttle said. “But if we have another bigger crop, prices are going to go lower and that’s not going to bode well for the farmer.”

In March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast farmers would plant 86.5 million acres of soybeans nationwide this spring, the fifth most ever. Some analysts expect soybean acres to increase by another million acres or more as heavy rains close the window on corn planting.

In nearby Princeton, Illinois, Evan Hultine also increased soy plantings and scaled back corn. High production costs due in part to a jump in interest rates looked likely to erode most or all of his corn returns, while soybeans remained marginally profitable, he said.

The farm’s profits will likely be the thinnest in at least five years, Hultine said.

In an annual early season crop budget estimate, University of Illinois agricultural economists projected negative average farmer returns in the state for both crops, though losses would be smaller for soybeans.

Unprofitable crops 

In northern Illinois, farmers could lose $140 per acre on average for corn and $30 an acre for soybeans with autumn delivery prices of $4.50 and $11.50 a bushel, respectively, the analysis showed. Actual returns vary significantly from farm to farm, however, depending on factors like crop yields, the timing of grain sales and whether farmers own or rent their land.

Fertilizer costs are down from highs last year, but crop prices are also down, while land costs remain elevated and borrowing rates for operating loans and equipment have jumped, likely forcing farmers to cut expenses, the economists said.

When looking to cut costs, farmers often favor planting soybeans rather than corn because they require less fertilizer and pesticides and seed costs tend to be lower.

High interest rates have been a particularly painful expense recently.

“If you’re borrowing $700 an acre to put a corn crop in at 7% to 8%, you’re talking about some real dollars there just on the price of money. You can put a bean crop in a lot cheaper. Your interest cost per acre might be half,” Tuttle said.

More soy, less corn

An early-spring forecast from the USDA projected soy plantings would expand by 3.5% this year while corn plantings were expected to shrink 4.9%.

The expansion is expected to swell the U.S. soy stockpile next season by more than 30% to the highest in five years and the sixth highest level on record as demand from the domestic and export markets is not keeping pace with rising production, according to the USDA.

Now, rain-saturated fields in some areas could clip corn acres and even further expand seedings of soybeans, which, unlike corn, can be planted well into June without significant risk to yields.

Cash prices offered for the next corn and soybean harvest have improved from earlier this spring in Spencer, Iowa, where Brent Swart has been struggling to plant the last of his corn acres due to overly wet weather. But neither crop pencils a profit at current prices.

Nearly a foot of rain over the past month, seven inches more than normal, has left his fields too soggy for field work. Swart estimates his remaining corn fields may not be in shape to plant until after his planting deadline date of June 1, when crop insurance benefits begin to drop with each day.

Swart’s best option in some of his fields may be to file an insurance claim saying he was prevented from planting due to waterlogged soils. Soybean prices remain some 40 cents a bushel under his estimated cost of production, he said.

“If you switch to soybeans, you’re potentially looking at a loss. If you prevent plant, you’re looking at more of a breakeven scenario,” Swart said.

Only farmers with severe weather issues will be able to file for insurance, however.

Weather delays and a favorable price versus corn could boost soy plantings by 500,000 to 1 million acres above the USDA’s latest forecast for 86.5 million, said Tanner Ehmke, lead economist for grains and oilseeds at CoBank.

“The signal from the marketplace to the farmer right now is that, if you have a doubt about your acreage, send those acres to soybeans,” he said.
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